First Steps Toward Finalizing Things

This may seem like an odd title for a blog’s first post. There will be flash-backs to prototypes and process that predate the blog’s birth date : 11/16/09.

Today was a big day. I finished a digital model, laid out my patterns in AutoCAD, cut down all of my ripstop nylon, and sewed my first seam. Photos below recount a bit of today’s progress…

This is 9 yards of black 14 mil vinyl ready to be cut down and ultimately sewn to create the floor of Itinerant Home. Typically 18 mil vinyl is what professionals use for floors. I find it hard to tell the difference between 14 and 18 mil though. And 14 mil vinyl is a couple dollars cheaper per yard.

I am using 1.9 oz breathable ripstop for Itinerant Home's "superstructure". I've been assured by those in the know that this fabric will stay inflated so long as I maintain a constant source of air. If I'd like it to hold air better, I can spray it with polyurethane. This is a cheaper solution than buying polyurethane impregnated ripstop.